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Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom condemned American-born Chinese team Olympic skier Eileen Gu during an interview on Pak Gazette’ “Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday.
“I’m just going to say it, she’s a traitor,” Freedom said. “He was born in America. He grew up in America, lives in America, and chooses to run against his own country for literally the worst violator of human rights on the planet: China. He built his fame in a free country and then chooses to represent an authoritarian regime.”
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the award ceremony of the women’s freestyle big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu has never publicly spoken out against China’s alleged human rights abusesincluding the country’s alleged systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or the imprisonment of politician Jimmy Lai.
“She chose to play for a country that is literally responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people, and literally runs a concentration camp as we speak,” Freedom said, comparing Gu’s silence on the issue to LeBron James’ rejection of a question about alleged human rights abuses in China in 2019.
“It’s like a play,” he said. “Every time human rights issues are raised about China, everyone stops talking about it.”
Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympian in the world, and is estimated to earn $23 million in 2025 alone amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and Western companies. Gu has said he represents China to his mother, who was born there.
CONTROVERSIAL SKIER EILEEN GU SETTLES FOR SILVER AFTER GOLD MEDAL DEFENSE FALLS SHORT IN MILAN
China’s Eileen Gu reacts after the second run of the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle final at the Livigno Snow Park during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
He Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, an American-born figure skater who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In total, the two were paid almost $14 million over the past three years.
Gu has been the subject of global criticism since her decision to represent China, dating back to the original decision in 2019, and her first Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. This year, that criticism has increased, as she has won two silver medals and even responded to a question about President Donald Trump’s criticism of American Olympian Hunter Hess for criticizing the current state of the United States.
“I regret that the headline that is overshadowing the Olympics has to be something so foreign to the spirit of the Games. It really goes against everything the Olympics should be about,” Gu told reporters on Monday.
“The goal of sport is to bring people together… One of the few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the competitive spirit, the ability to break not only records, but especially in our sport, literally the human limit. How wonderful is that?”
Gu also claimed that she herself had been “caught in the crossfire.”
“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope they can ski as well as possible.”
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Gu in an interview Tuesday on Pak Gazette’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
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The ill Eileen Gu of Team PRC competes in the second run of the Women’s Freeski Big Air Final on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“I have no idea what his status should be, I think that ultimately depends on the Olympics Committee, I’m not going to get into that,” Vance said.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America and who benefited from our educational system, from the freedoms that make this country a great place, I hope they want to compete with the United States of America. So, I’m going to support American athletesI think part of that is people who identify as Americans. “That’s what I support in these Olympic Games.”
Gu has won two silver medals in freestyle skiing in Milan Cortina, in the freestyle and big air events. He has one last event left, the halfpipe, on Saturday, where he has the opportunity to add to his total.
